Last night 11 Alive News aired a report on the fees paid to the Newton County Attorney, Tommy Craig. Many questions were raised by the reporter as well as citizens who were interviewed. Many have questioned why the Board agreed to reappoint Mr. Craig as County Attorney. Prior to the vote, I made the following statement which was made part of the official minutes of the meeting.

It's a relatively calm morning at the Newton County 911 center. Nate Stykes is giving instructions to a mother whose child is having a seizure. A few feet away, Love Frazier assures an elderly individual with chest pains that an ambulance is on the way.

The 11Alive report from "The Investigators" on Newton County Attorney Tommy Craig, and the pay he received in 2014, brought a lot of attention to the Board of Commissioners this week, a lot of which was negative from the talk around the county and social media responses.

Some local residents expressed anger at County Attorney Tommy Craig and the Board of Commissioners Friday following a Channel 11 news report on Craig's longstanding tax problems and his $1.1 million income from the county last year. Watch it here.

January 30, 2015|
Meris
Lutz
|LOCAL

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A 26-year-old Covington man, the passenger in a single vehicle crash, was killed Saturday night when the car went off McDaniel Mill road into a yard and into a tree. The driver, a 27-year-old Conyers man, was transported by helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center with serious injuries.

Last month, the Family Career and Community Leaders of America club at Cousins Middle School organized a blanket drive. The club donated over 50 blankets to Pastor Lett of the Garden of Gethsemane Homeless Shelter.

Following Caterpillar's Friday announcement to build a new manufacturing facility near Athens and hire 1,400 workers, Newton County economic development officials are already working to reap some of the benefits.

Two men were arrested on Valentine's Day, despite attempting to convince police that the heavy cologne was just because of the holiday and not being used to mask the smell of illegal drugs in their vehicle.

The son of Donald Eugene McCullough and another man have been arrested in the double homicide that occurred Feb. 7 at the Tempie Lane home of the 56-year-old McCullough and his 66-year-old aunt and caretaker Peggy Molden.

It took a jury just two hours to convict Rodney Renia Young of the murder of 28-year-old Gary Jones in March 2008, and despite the defense's claim of mental retardation, the jury found the 44-year-old was not mentally retarded, meaning he is eligible for the death penalty.

The countdown has begun for the area's newest Walmart store to open. With construction complete on the new store at 4200 Salem Road, the retailer will now spend the next few weeks transforming the empty building into a Walmart store complete with a full line of groceries and a wide assortment of merchandise and time-saving services. The new store plans to open to shoppers in March.

The third day of the death penalty trial against accused murderer Rodney Young focused primarily on Young's trip to Georgia in March 2008, with the prosecution attempting to show that the murder of Gary Jones was not the work of someone who is mentally retarded as the defense claims, but of a cold and calculating man who planned it all out.

Some county notices posted in departments' offices and on the county's website will soon be accompanied by Spanish counterparts, after the Board of Commissioners approved a federally mandated Limited English Proficiency Plan.

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is coming to Georgia Sunday to campaign in advance of the state's March 6 primary, and The News wants to see what readers think about the surging hopeful.